Evans loves Vipers debut
Kevin Mitchell
Sun Sep 3rd, 2017
He will take some heat for being a Maple Leafs fan, but Finn Evans is more focused on being a Vernon Viper.
The self-described “playmaking power forward” made his B.C. Hockey League debut as the Vipers grounded the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-2 in exhibition play Thursday night at Kal Tire Place.
Evans, who just turned 18, picked up one assist and tossed a few hits playing the left side with returning centre Ryan Brushett and rookie Connor Marritt.
“It was good playing with new guys,” said the 6-foot-4, 187-pound Evans. “Brushett had a couple of nice goals and Marritt, who I think is younger, also played well. It’s obviously a higher level than the Ontario League; that’s why I came out here. We’ve got a real solid team.”
Evans rang up 30 goals and 73 points with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the Ontario Junior A loop. He was a third-round draft of the OHL London Knights three years ago and was ranked 129th by NHL Central Scouting last season.
Brushett had a blast going up the middle with Evans in the neighbourhood.
“Finn’s good,” said Brushett. “I like playing with him. We got some good chemistry going by just communicating. He’s big and easy to play with.”
Evans was first welcomed to Vernon by Viper d-man Mike Ufberg, who like Evans, has a NCAA scholarship with the Princeton Tigers for next season. Evans’ younger brother, Angus, will play Midget hockey in San Jose.
“My family just moved to the States because my dad got offered a job with Apple,” said Finn.
Rookie Adam Panacci and veteran winger Niko Karamanis supplied singles for Vernon as they won their second of three pre-season tilts.
Panacci, 18, played for The Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ont. last year and has impressed the Viper coaching staff. He took a gorgeous outlet pass from d-man Chris Jandric and finished nicely.
“I’ve loved my time here in Vernon,” said Panacci, who skated down the left flank with linemates Coleton Bilodeau and Nick Cherkowski. “I’m from Toronto so it’s a lot different but the guys have just been unreal. It’s harder and faster than I expected.”
Kyle Johnson and Nolan Welsh replied for Prince George. The Vipers outshot the Spruce Kings 17-5 in the first period and 41-27 on the night.
Head coach and director of player personnel Mark Ferner planned to trim his roster after a pre-season game with the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday night.
“We were satisfied with some of our efforts for sure,” said Ferner. “It’s been a long camp but our young kids played very, very well which is just muddying the waters as far as our decisions are concerned.”
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